2016 SPEAKERS

Keith Taylor has authored or edited 16 books and chapbooks, including his most recent small collection, Fidelities (Alice Greene and Co., 2015). His last full-length collection was If the World Becomes So Bright, and his next one, The Bird-while, will be published by Wayne State University Press in February 2017. He has also co-edited several collections of fiction and non-fiction, including a recent collection of contemporary Michigan ghost stories. His poems, stories, reviews and translations have appeared widely in North America and in Europe. www.keithtaylorannarbor.com

Cindy Kitchel has been in book publishing for 25 years, focusing on managing large brands such as For Dummies, Betty Crocker, and Better Homes and Gardens. During her career she has worked on nearly every aspect of book editorial from copy editing and production to text development and author acquisition and contract negotiation. Companies she has worked for in both New York City and the Midwest include Macmillan, Pearson, Viacom, Simon & Schuster, Wiley, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Linda Angér is the owner of The Write Concept, Inc., a marketing communications company. Her clients have included DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Valeo Corporation, The Crittenton Hospital Medical Center Foundation, HAVEN, The Royal Park Hotel, Whole Bubble Thinking (Brisbane, Australia), Hanek Book Design (NYC), and hundreds of small businesses. Her business writing has been featured in Black Engineer Magazine, Profiles in Diversity Journal, MultiCultural Law Journal, and online business magazines. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in national publications such as Mused-the Bella Online Journal, Still Crazy Magazine, and the Almost Touching Anthology. She is an active member of two Toastmasters Clubs, and a popular speaker on topics ranging from Speaking Skills for Writers to Finding the Joy in Adversity.

Lisa Howard works with print magazines, online publications, and culinary marketing firms. She is the author of two cookbooks, Healthier Gluten-Free and The Big Book of Healthy Cooking Oils. Along with being a food writer and recipe developer, she also educates audiences about nutrition and cooking through her engagements as a culinary speaker and cooking instructor. Feel free to stop by www.theculturedcook.com any time to browse through Lisa’s recipes and culinary tidbits.

Roberta Brown is a writer and musician. Her work has been published in local newspapers, Peninsula Poets, online at the Michigander’s Post, and in the upcoming fall edition of Selected Writings from the Michigander’s Post, Vol. 3, 2015 – 2016. She is a member of Detroit Working Writers. She also plays oboe, piano, guitar, and bass guitar; her most recent performances have been at the Onyx Restaurant in Royal Oak, Cliff Bell’s in Detroit, and every Sunday at Woodside Bible Church, either in the orchestra or on the praise team.

Sylvia Hubbard is a Detroit native and independently published author. Her foundation genre has always been romance. Always urban and contemporary styled, her writing is enjoyed all over the world by many nationalities. She has published four paperbacks and over 10 e-books. She has been featured in several anthologies and she will be publishing more e-books. For the past 10 years, Sylvia has taught writers how to sell products on the Internet at conferences, workshops and with her book, Internet Marketing for Writers & Businesses. Visit her website.

Elizabeth Heiter is a critically acclaimed and award-winning author who likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists, and a little bit of romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Her novels have been published in more than a dozen countries and translated into eight languages. Elizabeth writes The Profiler series, whose heroine was called “one of the most amazing characters created in print” by Fresh Fiction, and The Lawmen series, the most recent of which won the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Intrigue. Learn more at www.elizabethheiter.com.

Colleen Gleason is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author who has written more than forty novels in a variety of genres, including paranormal, steampunk, historical fiction, dystopian fiction, YA fiction, and more. She’s written for Penguin, HarperCollins, Harlequin, and Chronicle Books. She currently writes for Kensington Books and also indie-publishes several books a year. Visit her website at www.colleengleason.com.

Teresa Crumpton is an independent editor, who works one-on-one with writers in every genre. She specializes in the Power Edit, which combines an in-depth edit with targeted lessons designed to help authors realize their writing goals. Teresa holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University, KY and can be reached atwww.authorspark.org.

Rex Halfpenny, and his wife Mary, founded Michigan Beer Guide in 1997, a bi-monthly periodical dedicated to observing and reporting on the craft beer industry in Michigan. Over the course of the last 20 years, Rex has participated, monitored and reported on the craft beer scene in Michigan and helped grow the industry in our state to become one of the top 5 craft beer states in the nation. www.michiganbeerguide.com

Please Note: All events take place in the Oakland Center of Oakland University (2200 N Squirrel Road, Rochester, MI 48309). Use parking lot 2 (P2) and walk south (opposite the pond) for the shortest distance into the Oakland Center. In addition, use parking lot 1 off Squirrel Road (P1) and walk east toward the building. The Oakland Center is positioned between the lots and the Clock Tower. Look for Bright Yellow Signs. The Oakland Center is #13 on the printable version Campus Map.